International Conference on “Enabling Industry towards Smartification and Digitalisation with XR Technologies” International Experts: Hong Kong has Unique Strengths and Great Potential to Become a Global Leader in Extended Reality (XR) Industry

(Hong Kong, 17 October 2023) Representatives from leading companies in extended reality (XR) technologies and experts from France, Finland, the United States, Japan, the Mainland and Hong Kong gathered in Hong Kong today and shared insights about best practices, diverse application scenarios of XR technologies, and international cooperation opportunities, at an international conference organised by Hong Kong Productivity Council Smart Manufacturing (HKPC Smart Manufacturing) on “Enabling Industry towards Smartification and Digitalisation with XR Technologies”. The experts were unanimous about the strong demand for XR technologies in the markets. They believe Hong Kong has unique strengths in promoting the application of XR technologies and has great potential to be a key growth engine and a hub accelerating the development of global XR industry. The experts find Hong Kong is blessed with unique strengths as an international entrepôt where technology, talent and capital converge with a vibrant innovation ecosystem, and as a gateway to the vast market and the manufacturing powerhouse in the Mainland; with excellent infrastructure; robust institutional framework; high degree of internationalisation; and thriving cultural and creative industries.

XR industry in the Mainland is expected to exceed $48.7 billion in 2026, according to the “Virtual Reality and Industry Application Integration Development Action Plan (2022-2026)” jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other central government departments in October 2022. The global market intelligence firm IDC has forecasted that worldwide spending on XR will grow to $50.9 billion in 2026. XR is an umbrella term encapsulating Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR) and everything in between.

To strengthen Hong Kong's advantageous position and help the industry seize the opportunities proactively, HKPC Smart Manufacturing invited representatives from leading companies in XR and industry experts to join the Conference and share experience and insights about the application of XR technologies in sectors such as manufacturing, gaming, medical and healthcare, retail and construction. The stellar line-up of experts included Mr Edmond LAI, Chief Digital Officer, HKPC; Mr Matias KOSKI, Chief Executive Officer, Immersal (part of Hexagon), Finland; Mr Makoto ITO, Country Manager (Japan), RealWear; Ms Zaf CHOW, Chief Commercial Officer, Artifacts Lab, Hong Kong & Advisor, Animoca Brands; Mr Vincent SU, Vice President, KMAX, the Mainland; Mr Othman CHIHEB, Chief Executive Officer, Oriono, France (Ex-Mixed Reality Lead, Microsoft France); and Dr Adrian LOW, President, Hong Kong Association of Psychology. Over 250 business association leaders, executives, and industry experts from various sectors in Hong Kong and the Mainland attended and joined in lively discussions during the Conference.

Mr Edmond LAI, Chief Digital Officer, HKPC, said, “The Hong Kong SAR Government is actively promoting the development of digital economy. XR is a key enabling technology for developing digital economy, creating new productivity, realising new industrialisation and accelerating Hong Kong’s transformation into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. HKPC has used XR technologies in multiple innovative, industrial applications, and won the recognition of world-class R&D awards. In doing so, HKPC aims to provide impetus for Hong Kong and the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to develop new industries, and build new business forms and models, which will help speed up the formation of new productivity and promote new industrialisation in Hong Kong and the entire GBA. ”

Hong Kong has favourable conditions to be a global leader in XR industry, but it requires joint efforts from the industry, academic, and research sectors to seize the opportunity and help Hong Kong realise its potential. At the sixth Augmented World Expo EU 2023 to be held in Vienna, Austria later this month, HKPC has provided support to set up the Hong Kong Pavilion where the latest XR technologies of 20 Hong Kong companies will be showcased. Global business giants such as Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Siemens will also join this event.

Mr Edmond LAI continued, “XR technologies have immense potential in both consumer and commercial markets, especially in industrial application where it is expected to grow steadily and gradually become more ubiquitous. HKPC has numerous successful cases in which we help industry partners to improve the processes of production line design, allow remote operation of equipment, expedite the training of personnel, with the aim to reduce costs and increase efficiency, innovate business models, and enhance the levels of automation, digitisation, and intelligent production. HKPC will continue championing XR application and industry advancement, and strengthening I&T collaboration with the Mainland and abroad. We will provide full support for industry players to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths and potential to become a global leader in XR industry, formulate strategies to embrace future industries, and help Hong Kong develop into an international I&T centre and achieve high-quality development.”

HKPC’s efforts to promote industrial application of XR have contributed to the rapid development of XR industry both in Hong Kong and the GBA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HKPC used XR and helped a Hong Kong enterprise overcome travel restrictions, virtually join an exhibition held in Italy to find business opportunities. In April this year, Hong Kong's first technology hall themed in industrial metaverse "Celesphere" was launched at HKPC, introducing physical production scenes into the virtual space in industrial metaverse. By using XR, digital twin, i4.0, artificial intelligence and human-machine interface technologies, HKPC supports enterprises to optimise the entire product process, laying the foundation for building intelligent factories of the future. Celesphere showcases HKPC's R&D project “i4.0 Digital Lean in Metaverse for Virtualised Process Optimisation”, which has garnered prestigious international awards and recognitions such as being a finalist in the 2023 Edison Awards. Another project under collaboration between HKPC and Tsinghua University, “Interactive Control System for Robot Manipulation with AR Technology”, is a winner of TechConnect 2023 Innovation Awards. Through AR glasses, the system allows users to monitor and control the industrial robot arm remotely for task execution, and it can also simplify complex programming procedures.

The Conference today unveils a series of events to be held by HKPC Smart Manufacturing to promote XR technologies. From November 2023 to January 2024, there will be five seminars focusing on the application scenarios, demand and new opportunities for XR technologies in various sectors such as gaming, manufacturing, construction, medical and healthcare.

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HKPC Smart Manufacturing today organised the International Conference on “Enabling Industry towards Smartification and Digitalisation with Extended Reality (XR) Technologies”. International experts find Hong Kong is blessed with unique strengths as an international entrepôt where technology, talent, capital, as a gateway to the vast market in the Mainland, and high degree of internationalisation, and they believe Hong Kong has great potential to be a key growth engine and a hub accelerating the development of global XR industry.

Mr Edmond LAI, Chief Digital Officer, HKPC, said that HKPC has used XR in multiple innovative, industrial applications, and won the recognition of world-class R&D awards. In doing so, HKPC aims to provide impetus for Hong Kong and the entire GBA to develop new industries, and build new business forms and models, which will help speed up the formation of new productivity and promote new industrialisation both in Hong Kong and GBA.